


Betrayal

by PotionsMistressM



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, True Blood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-20
Updated: 2013-07-20
Packaged: 2017-12-20 20:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/891628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotionsMistressM/pseuds/PotionsMistressM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when one of your favorite fictional characters betrays you?   </p><p>Told from Ruby's POV, VAGUELY mentions plot twists from Charlaine Harris' <i>Definitely Dead</i> and either season 3 or season 4 of <i>True Blood</i> (I forget which, but if you're up to date, no spoilers).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Betrayal

The diner was quiet in the post-lunch lull, only a few stragglers left nursing coffee and poring over the _Mirror_. It was one of Ruby's favorite times of the day (second to whatever time her shift ended, of course), when she could take a deep breath and a little mental break before the prep work for the dinner crowd began. She smiled to herself as she patted her apron pocket, full of lunch time tips, and ducked her head behind the counter to rearrange a stack of menus. Hearing the door open, she called out without even bothering to look up.

"Hi, welcome to Granny's. I'll be right with you." Everyone in town knew Granny's- everyone knew Ruby- and keeping someone waiting a second or two would never be a deal breaker when it came to customer service. But the plastic-coated menus had stuck to each other (whether due to the summer humidity or an abundance of maple syrup, Ruby didn't want to investigate), and as Ruby struggled to set them to rights, her new customer stayed silent on the other side of the counter. Normally in a situation like this her visitor would make some little small talk, let her know it was okay for her to take her time. In fact, Ruby thought as she glanced at her watch, it was just about time for Archie to pop in from across the street for his second coffee of the day. But Archie would have responded to her greeting... As she finished with her task, Ruby plastered her best waitress smile across her face and straightened.

But her smile disappeared as soon as she saw who had entered the diner. More accurately, as she saw the state of the girl who had entered the diner. Belle had just been in the diner to pick up lunch, dusty and smelling faintly of mildewed paper. She was busy getting the library in order and hated leaving it even long enough to eat, so it had become her habit to pick up soup or a sandwich and (obviously) a large iced tea and take her food back to the library, where she would sit only long enough to finish the food, reading the whole time. It was very important to Belle to know about the books she would checking out to others in the near future. But here she stood before Ruby, stock still and frowning, tears falling down her grief-stricken face.

"Oh my God, Belle! What's wrong? What happened?" Ruby ran around the side of the counter towards Belle and scanned her up and down for any sign of physical distress. It was then that she caught sight of the cracked-spined, dog-eared paperback Belle held- still open- in her shaking hand. The series had always been one of Ruby's favorites; even in her cursed state she had somehow connected with the little waitress who wasn't quite human and felt a strange attraction to the series' many supernatural creatures. Especially the werewolves. She had recommended the series to Belle, who had torn through the first few books in a matter of days, enjoying them immensely. It had been fun to have something to gossip about together other than the normal Storybrooke drama. Ruby had also mentioned the television series ( _If you like reading about the hot guys, you should_ see _them!_ ), but Belle- ever the librarian- had insisted on reading all of the books first. And with a quick glance at the cover to assess which volume of the series Belle held in her hands, Ruby suddenly knew exactly what was wrong. 

Tears streamed down Belle's face but her jaw was clenched and her eyes were hard and glittering as she spat out her disbelieving response.

"Goddamn Bill Compton."

All Ruby could do was run to her friend and hug her.


End file.
